# How do you store your nail polish collection?



## azalea97

I was looking for storage ideas for nail polish.  For years I've just stored my nail polishes, remover, files, clippers, etc. in a shoe box.  Not very fancy, but it does the job.  The only bad thing is the colors aren't in clear view.


----------



## wewearpolish

It's funny you started this thread because I literally just bought a new box for storage today! My boyfriend (who supports my nail polish habit lol)  just got me a three tiered set of drawers. They are like the plastic ones you get from staples for offices but this one is a lot smaller. I would say its 14 inches high and 12 inches wide, has three see through drawers and can easily fit under a bed. It looks like this...

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/202271343/3_layer_Mini_Drawer_plastic_drawer/showimage.html

but its not as small


----------



## bonita22

I have a DIY nail polish rack. It cost me under $5 to make and it looks very good. Very sturdy. I followed the instructions from this page: http://krystalmonique.tumblr.com/post/12792201409/diy-nail-polish-rack


----------



## wewearpolish

> Originally Posted by *bonita22* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
> I have a DIY nail polish rack. It cost me under $5 to make and it looks very good. Very sturdy.
> 
> I followed the instructions from this page:
> 
> http://krystalmonique.tumblr.com/post/12792201409/diy-nail-polish-rack


 OMGGG I can not tell you how much I want to make this right now. That is very cool!!


----------



## acostakk

> It's funny you started this thread because I literally just bought a new box for storage today! My boyfriend (who supports my nail polish habit lol) Â just got me a three tiered set of drawers. They are like the plastic ones you get from staples for offices but this one is a lot smaller. I would say its 14 inches high and 12 inches wide, has three see through drawers and can easily fit under a bed. It looks like this... http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/202271343/3_layer_Mini_Drawer_plastic_drawer/showimage.html but its not as small


 May I ask where he found it? I am hunting something like this, but can't find one with drawers that are deep enough. I figure they need to be at least 3.5 inches deep (I have one crazy tall bottle, but it's an anomaly that can be dealt with separately). I currently have this: http://www.amazon.com/Snapware-Stack-Portable-Organizer-Rectangle/dp/B005PQAITM/ref=sr_1_14?s=home-garden&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1372915571&amp;sr=1-14&amp;keywords=Snap+n%27stack This is perfect in theory, except the top section nests down into the bottom section slightly, making it shorter. So when it's full of polish, I can't actually stack the two boxes. So now they sit side by side, driving me nuts because one box is uncovered, and they are taking up twice the space I had allotted. I desperately want them all contained in a covered, stacking system! To answer the original question- short of hanging a rack on the wall, there is no good way to store polish and still maintain visibility. To overcome this, I swatched them all on swatch sticks that are arranged by color and labeled with brand and polish name. The bottles of polish are stored by brand. So once I pick the color(s) I want from the swatches, it's pretty easy to track down the bottle I want.


----------



## zadidoll

If in the US try Target or Walmart.


----------



## azalea97

Thanks for the ideas!

I really like the do-it-yourself rack, but I don't think I have enough polishes to fill something like that! They'd look lost.

I could probably fit them all in 1 of those snap boxes.  

Wewearpolish- what a nice boyfriend you have!  I like those draws but I haven't seen ones those deep.


----------



## wewearpolish

I got lucky...we went to the Christmas Tree Shops near me and they had them. Staples might have something similar. It looks like the drawers are 3 inches tall so that might work for most of your polishes


----------



## maeiland

Here is my storage solution. You can find these all over ebay and amazon. I need another one because all of my nail polish doesn't fit on just one.


----------



## maeiland

> Originally Posted by *la rubia* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
> 
> Thanks for the ideas!
> 
> I really like the do-it-yourself rack, but I don't think I have enough polishes to fill something like that! They'd look lost.
> 
> I could probably fit them all in 1 of those snap boxes.
> 
> Wewearpolish- what a nice boyfriend you have!  I like those draws but I haven't seen ones those deep.


 If you don't have a lot of polishes you can use a spice rack like the Bekvam from ikea.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40070185/


----------



## DonnaD

Where did you find three foam boards for under $5?



> Originally Posted by *bonita22* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
> 
> I have a DIY nail polish rack. It cost me under $5 to make and it looks very good. Very sturdy.
> 
> I followed the instructions from this page:
> http://krystalmonique.tumblr.com/post/12792201409/diy-nail-polish-rack


----------



## bonita22

> Where did you find three foam boards for under $5?


 At the 99 cents only store. I got 3 foam boards and glue sticks for my hot glue gun for $4.40. I already had the Exacto knife and the duct tape.


----------



## chelsealynn

> Originally Posted by *maeiland* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
> 
> Here is my storage solution. You can find these all over ebay and amazon. I need another one because all of my nail polish doesn't fit on just one.


 It''s so pretty!


----------



## KeepOnSingin

A small, cheap plastic bin I got at Target for a few bucks. Nothing special/fancy.


----------



## lissa1307

i actually picked up a nice wooden storage cabinet for over the toilet at a thrift shop for $5 awhile back, hubby tookthe legs off it and when we redecorated the bathroom it sat in a closet for a few months til i had the crazy idea to stick it on top of my bookshelf and stick my polishes in it....

the pic is from the day i did it, there are about 30 more polishes in it now


----------



## shay905

I got a big bin at target but I found not seeing all the colors easily makes me not use a lot of them. I need to invest in a wall rack


----------



## shay905

Love this, I need one!


----------



## Christa W

I have a massive collection of polish.  I have been collecting them since the mid 90's with a recent hoarding obsession since spring.  I kept them all in a huge tote or basket but I could never see what I had and didn't tend to wear polish often due to that fact.  I now work from home and have them in my home office. These were made out of the foam racks as well.  I am currently working on my 4th one.  Since I made 3 at once I didn't need as many foam boards.  I got everything I needed at the Dollar General with the exception of the duct tape which happened to be on 50% clearance at Home Depot.  I went back and bought all they had.  I ended up spending closer to 25 I think for everything including the glue gun, extra glue sticks, the knife I used to cut it (Dollar Tree) etc.  Only one shelf doesn't hold up so I had to repair it while on my wall and keep only lighter polish bottles on it.  The wooden side shelf I put there for the meantime is now overgrown as well.  Since this picture was taken I have increased my stash by well over 100.  I am currently sitting at 520 (that I have swatched on color wheels) and about another 125 in older and minis.  I really like the foam shelves for what they are.  I would love something in the clear plastic or acrylic but I just didn't have the money at the time (I spent it all on polish). 

Under the desk you see the monitor on I keep all the nail art and nail care supplies.  It's just a 3 bin plastic shelf.  I keep baskets from the dollar tree in to separate my stickers, nail tape, scotch tape, extra dishes and cups for water marble etc.  On the desk I keep the supplies like cotton balls, q tips, toothpicks, and my trusty lint roller for cleaning my stamper. My stamping plates are also in a binder in the plastic shelf unit.


----------



## DonnaD

Please send me your entire room.  I'll totally pay for shipping! 







> Originally Posted by *Christa W* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I have a massive collection of polish.  I have been collecting them since the mid 90's with a recent hoarding obsession since spring.  I kept them all in a huge tote or basket but I could never see what I had and didn't tend to wear polish often due to that fact.  I now work from home and have them in my home office. These were made out of the foam racks as well.  I am currently working on my 4th one.  Since I made 3 at once I didn't need as many foam boards.  I got everything I needed at the Dollar General with the exception of the duct tape which happened to be on 50% clearance at Home Depot.  I went back and bought all they had.  I ended up spending closer to 25 I think for everything including the glue gun, extra glue sticks, the knife I used to cut it (Dollar Tree) etc.  Only one shelf doesn't hold up so I had to repair it while on my wall and keep only lighter polish bottles on it.  The wooden side shelf I put there for the meantime is now overgrown as well.  Since this picture was taken I have increased my stash by well over 100.  I am currently sitting at 520 (that I have swatched on color wheels) and about another 125 in older and minis.  I really like the foam shelves for what they are.  I would love something in the clear plastic or acrylic but I just didn't have the money at the time (I spent it all on polish).
> 
> Under the desk you see the monitor on I keep all the nail art and nail care supplies.  It's just a 3 bin plastic shelf.  I keep baskets from the dollar tree in to separate my stickers, nail tape, scotch tape, extra dishes and cups for water marble etc.  On the desk I keep the supplies like cotton balls, q tips, toothpicks, and my trusty lint roller for cleaning my stamper. My stamping plates are also in a binder in the plastic shelf unit.


----------



## Christa W

> Originally Posted by *DonnaD* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
> 
> Please send me your entire room.  I'll totally pay for shipping!


That's awesome.  Thanks for making me smile.  I would hate to think of how much the bottles alone would weigh!  At one point when I had them in a tote/basket I couldn't even lift it up it was full to the max.  I am a pretty lucky girl.


----------



## deactivateduser232015

Hm... am I the only person who prefers to sort by brand rather than colour? I see almost everyone sort by brand by the colour is more important to me...

I keep moving around or else I'd buy a permanent fixture to store my nail polish. While I wasn't looking, I'm probably somewhere in the 150-200 range now (esp if I count my minis, sigh).


----------



## Christa W

> Originally Posted by *Kyuu* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
> 
> Hm... am I the only person who prefers to sort by brand rather than colour? I see almost everyone sort by brand by the colour is more important to me...
> 
> I keep moving around or else I'd buy a permanent fixture to store my nail polish. While I wasn't looking, I'm probably somewhere in the 150-200 range now (esp if I count my minis, sigh).


 I sort mine by brand as well.  I swatch out all my polishes on a color wheel by similar colors ie teals/turquoise, purples, pinks, glitters, etc.  Then I have a spreadsheet in Excel on my computer that corresponds to a number on the back of the wheel.  I can then pull that up and see what polish it is.  Because I sort by brand, I can know exactly where to go for that bottle.  I am a tad bit OCD though.


----------



## naturalactions

Currently my nail polish stash is stored in the top section of my SherrieBlossom IceBox, but with all my subs, I have quickly run out of room. So I am now saving up to buy a Fox Claws Roxy Rack...I do not trust myself with the DIY options. I can see all my polish crashing to the floor because I didn't use enough glue or forgot to put a nail in somewhere...and this way, I will clear up an entire level for more cosmetics in my IceBox! It's a win win!


----------



## KimberlyP

I have mine in Rubbermaid show boxes as well. And, each color has its own box.


----------



## theHulk750

I have mine in clear shoe boxes sorted by color.  All of my stripers and nail art pens in a box, stamping supplies in another, and base/top coats/stregtheners in another!  All the boxes are from the Container Store so they fit neatly on top of one another hidden in the back of my closet so my husband doesn't actually see how big my collection is.


----------



## chrysalis101

I also have a DIY polish shelf that's close to overflowing now. Hubby has another one cut out, he just needs to put it together (will have to wait till after we move, now). But all of my "extras" are in plastic shoe boxes under the sink; things like tape, decals, rhinestones, dotting tools, and stampers. I'm not a fan of how the extras are being stored right now. It gets really messy pretty fast. Maybe I'll come up with something after the move. I'm thinking plastic drawers under the sink? or maybe a small wooden drawer unit with dividers in it on top of the dresser?


----------



## DonnaD

I sort by brand simply because mine are all on wall racks and they fit together better.  I use those plastic nail sticks to organise by colour.



> Originally Posted by *Christa W* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
> 
> 
> I sort mine by brand as well.  I swatch out all my polishes on a color wheel by similar colors ie teals/turquoise, purples, pinks, glitters, etc.  Then I have a spreadsheet in Excel on my computer that corresponds to a number on the back of the wheel.  I can then pull that up and see what polish it is.  Because I sort by brand, I can know exactly where to go for that bottle.  I am a tad bit OCD though.


----------



## invisiblebike

I just bought an Ikea Helmer, it should arrive next week (the closest Ikea is two and a half hours away, S&amp;H was expensive but probably about the same as gas money




). If you google it, it is very popular with nail polish bloggers. Once I put it together, I'm gonna use the opportunity to do an inventory with an excel spreadsheet. Lol, i have a problem. I'm also gonna store all of my samples in them, as well as my nail tools and a few other makeup items I don't use every day!


----------



## natasha09

> Originally Posted by *maeiland* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
> 
> Here is my storage solution. You can find these all over ebay and amazon. I need another one because all of my nail polish doesn't fit on just one.
> 
> i


 *I just adore this solution but my home will look like a salon ,,lolz*


----------



## effigie

I use the IKEA Alex: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50192822/

You can see pictures of it / my stash here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/effigie/sets/72157630524026228/

Pictures are a bit old (last summer), but it's basically the same.. just a bit more full. haha


----------



## spilledpolish

I love this! You have so many polishes  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## spilledpolish

I have my own indie nail polish line, and for shows and storage while at home, I use these shelves that my sister made!





But for my other nail polishes at home, I use spice racks! I got them at *Solutions*, but they can be found on ebay or amazon most likely. The photo is from over a year ago, so now I have a third spice rack! My sister has three also, but she spray painted hers black. They look so nice!


----------



## azalea97

I finally found something perfect for not only storing my nail polishes, but also all my files, clippers, polish remover and cotton balls!  I found this nifty little holder at Bed Bath &amp; Beyond.  It sure beats my old shoe box.  A few nailpolishes wouldn't fit, so I put 4 that I only wear in the winter back in my shoebox for now.


----------



## promogirl

I have one Ikea Helmer that is full and could probably fill another one about halfway right now. No, I don't have a polish obsession AT ALL.



Only one friend has seen has massive the collection is. She told me I need an intervention.


----------



## FunAtTheCircus

I'm _shocked_ no one stores their polishes the way I do.. About a year ago I saw on pinterest someone's nailpolish collection storage and thought OMG I have to do that.. from target I got a white with clear pockets over the door shoe holder. I group by color and hang it from my husbands closet door. I just put all pinks in one pocket, blues in another and so on and so forth.

Very cheap solution.

http://www.amazon.com/Over-Door-Clear-Organizer-Storage/dp/B000IXOH7G


----------



## fleurissante

> Originally Posted by *Amanda Warwick* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
> 
> I'm _shocked_ no one stores their polishes the way I do.. About a year ago I saw on pinterest someone's nailpolish collection storage and thought OMG I have to do that.. from target I got a white with clear pockets over the door shoe holder. I group by color and hang it from my husbands closet door. I just put all pinks in one pocket, blues in another and so on and so forth.
> 
> Very cheap solution.
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Over-Door-Clear-Organizer-Storage/dp/B000IXOH7G


 This is an interesting idea. Can it handle the weight of the polish?


----------



## prettycontech

The best way to store nail polise from drying is to keep in refrigerator..and using the nail polise always afects the nails and yellowing of nails starts.so its best to select good quality nail polish and use use rarely.


----------



## chrysalis101

Quote: Originally Posted by *prettycontech* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  The best way to store nail polise from drying is to keep in refrigerator..and using the nail polise always afects the nails and yellowing of nails starts.so its best to select good quality nail polish and use use rarely.

I don't believe this is true. Keeping it in the refrigerator just makes it cold, which makes it harder to apply. Taking it in and out of the fridge just changes the temperature and causes a break down of the chemicals.

http://www.thedailyvarnish.com/2013/01/22/how-to-properly-store-nail-polish/

Also, using nail polish without a good base coat is what causes discoloration of the nails. I paint my nails often. I only had yellowing of the nails when I first started because I wasn't using a base coat. When I started using a base coat the yellowing grew out and hasn't been a problem since.


----------



## nanutter

> Here is my storage solution. You can find these all over ebay and amazon. I need another one because all of my nail polish doesn't fit on just one.


 Drooling over your collection.


----------



## emily_3383

Quote: Originally Posted by *maeiland* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Here is my storage solution. You can find these all over ebay and amazon. I need another one because all of my nail polish doesn't fit on just one.




I have a helmer drawer from ikea but i really want this so i can see what i have!!


----------



## slinka

If only I were this put-together...

I recently moved...which is barely an excuse lol, but they are all thrown into a drawer  with a few that have been recently used/acquired just sitting on my dresser.

I'm LOVING that storage though! How lovely and practical.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## YBM-Wendy

I love all your creative stands. The first stand that I own was like this one http://www.salonsupplystore.com/black-acrylic-nail-polish-large-display-stand-rack-p-669810.html and I love it. Now I have a wall display.

_link edited_


----------



## Lolo22

I built this shelf a few weeks ago and I've got it hanging in my closet. It's like $5 worth of wood and I already had the screws and paint. The only problem is that I didn't count my polishes first and it's already full lol.


----------



## marilyn1908

I have an old book case and have them all by color or shoe boxes.


----------



## NotTheMama

I actually used old cardboard boxes that our envelopes for work come in. They are free (I just have to wait until the envelopes are gone!!! Lol) and they are the perfect size, the polish bottles fit standing up and one box holds around 100 bottles, give or take. I have separate boxes for minis, full size bottles, nail art supplies, etc. It really works for me, there's room for expansion, and it's cheap.


----------



## Christa W

My foam racks (4 total) have been up since the end of June/beginning of July and they are not holding up.  I don't know if it was my error in construction or the moving around of the bottles constantly to make room for new inventory or what but 5 of the shelves are completely useless already.  I need to figure out how to repair when it's on the wall already.  I think I might need a larger cordless glue gun but I am really to the point of just building a wooden one.  That or buying the acrylic ones but I need at least 5 and that's going to be expensive.  Now I have polish just strewn about and some in a mini Helmer type 2 drawer cabinet I got at the thrift store.


----------



## Rubyblood

If I did that and my old man saw how much I had he would ban me from buying


----------



## Rubyblood

I now have some of those plastic shoe boxes. Already filled one and a half and filled my carry along basket too.


----------



## Christa W

Quote: Originally Posted by *Rubyblood* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  If I did that and my old man saw how much I had he would ban me from buying
Mine knew when we met I had about 250ish.  I show him some of my purchases but I don't think he does the math or wants to for that matter.  But I did encourage him the other day to buy a stash of comic books from Goodwill of over 2000 so his collection habits are as bad as mine and he says "whatever makes you happy honey".


----------



## Christa W

I came up with a temporary solution for storing my mini's.  Previously they were in a drawer so I didn't see them.  I bought these containers at a garage sale 2 years ago and was using the little one to keep my bottle brush, handled scrubber and dish brush in at the sink.  I wanted something better for those so I had these 3 all empty again.  It's like my own little candy jar.  (I have one full of real candy on the other side of the desk).  I also picked up this spice rack at a thrift store and originally used it to display my most used polishes so I could have them close at hand but moved them to a basket and chose to put my indies on here.  The empty one is for the Hit Polish I ordered today.  I am going to have to find another one since I forgot I have one coming from Jindie nails that needs a home! 





In the small one is all Hit Polish, middle is China Glaze and Kleancolor and the big one is everything else.





These are sitting underneath the 4 foam nail racks on the wall.


----------



## Sunflowercake

I use an old wooden spice rackyou would hang on the wall that my mom had sent me. The funny thing is that it is standing in our guest bedroom and she looked a bit confused when she noticed it.


----------



## wrkreads

My brother-in-law made me a shelf, and my husband made me a second one once the first was full.

I have swatch sticks that are an odd shape, so I keep them in glasses on the window ledge, since they aren't the type that you can put on a ring.













Note: I have no idea why they uploaded sideways! And I don't know how to fix them.


----------



## Jill1228

> I just bought an Ikea Helmer, it should arrive next week (the closest Ikea is two and a half hours away, S&amp;H was expensive but probably about the same as gas money  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> ). If you google it, it is very popular with nail polish bloggers. Once I put it together, I'm gonna use the opportunity to do an inventory with an excel spreadsheet. Lol, i have a problem. I'm also gonna store all of my samples in them, as well as my nail tools and a few other makeup items I don't use every day!


 I'm heading to Chicago in 2 weeks and I'm going to stop at ikea to get one of these


----------



## sushiteaz

Quote: Originally Posted by *maeiland* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Here is my storage solution. You can find these all over ebay and amazon. I need another one because all of my nail polish doesn't fit on just one.




oooooo! Beautiful collection! I just dump all mine is a train case, which is also overflowing so I'll need a new organization soon.


----------



## slinka

> oooooo! Beautiful collection! I just dump all mine is a train case, which is also overflowing so I'll need a new organization soon.


 You and me both sister lol


----------



## DonnaD

I just bought a new acrylic rack with my ebates money.  That will bring me to 4 of them...I need at least 2 more


----------



## FrostKitty

I finally broke down and went the Helmer Route.    I am now on my 3rd one so I am going to have to come up with a much larger cabinet.   I love the acrylic racks - unfortunately I am a book hoarder and have very few walls left to hang things.    I also have Demonically Possessed Jumping Cats who would be unable to resist finding ways to jump up to explore the lovely glass bottles.    

My Long Suffering Husband worked out the organizers.  I bought matte paper and used his matte cutter to create the organizers.


----------



## acostakk

> I finally broke down and went the Helmer Route. Â  Â I am now on my 3rd one so I am going to have to come up with a much larger cabinet. Â  I love the acrylic racks - unfortunately I am a book hoarder and have very few walls left to hang things. Â  Â I also have Demonically Possessed Jumping Cats who would be unable to resist finding ways to jump up to explore the lovely glass bottles. Â  Â  My Long Suffering Husband worked out the organizers. Â I bought matte paper and used his matte cutter to create the organizers. Â


 I want a Helmer so badly. But I'm still afraid some bottles will be too tall (specifically the couple Wet n Wild Fergie colors I have. They are taller than Julep bottles). It would drive my OCD into hysteria if everything was all tucked away except for 3 or 4 bottles. Guess I should just take a bottle over to Ikea and check it out.


----------



## FrostKitty

Quote: Originally Posted by *acostakk* /img/forum/go_quote.gif


I want a Helmer so badly. But I'm still afraid some bottles will be too tall (specifically the couple Wet n Wild Fergie colors I have. They are taller than Julep bottles). It would drive my OCD into hysteria if everything was all tucked away except for 3 or 4 bottles. Guess I should just take a bottle over to Ikea and check it out.
The Julep bottles fit perfectly with room to spare.   The drawers are: 3" tall.


----------



## Christa W

Quote: Originally Posted by *FrostKitty* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  I finally broke down and went the Helmer Route.    I am now on my 3rd one so I am going to have to come up with a much larger cabinet.   I love the acrylic racks - unfortunately I am a book hoarder and have very few walls left to hang things.    I also have Demonically Possessed Jumping Cats who would be unable to resist finding ways to jump up to explore the lovely glass bottles.    

My Long Suffering Husband worked out the organizers.  I bought matte paper and used his matte cutter to create the organizers.  




How many does 1 Helmer hold?


----------



## DreamWarrior

Does anyone own/use the Yazmo Professional Nail Art Case??  I was thinking of getting it, but wanted some feedback on it.  I checked online but found very little reviews (none really).


----------



## lavio4

Thanks! I am so making this this week.  I needed a new craft project.  Now I just need something to store my tools any suggestions??


----------



## sleepykat

I love the look of the wall racks, but I live in California and I feel like it would be bad in an earthquake. Plus, I don't know that I have enough wall space for how many polishes I have, and I don't think my husband views them as decorative anyhow. I think what would end up being the most practical for me are the tabletop-stairstep-style spice racks to put on my closet shelves. This is exactly what I want, but I would need a lot of them:


----------



## DragonChick

Quote: Originally Posted by *acostakk* /img/forum/go_quote.gif


I want a Helmer so badly. But I'm still afraid some bottles will be too tall (specifically the couple Wet n Wild Fergie colors I have. They are taller than Julep bottles). It would drive my OCD into hysteria if everything was all tucked away except for 3 or 4 bottles. Guess I should just take a bottle over to Ikea and check it out.

They fit, even with an anti-slip sheet in the bottom they fit in the Helmer with no problems at all. SOPI's are slightly taller than the Fergies and they also fit in the Helmer comfortably.


----------



## acostakk

> They fit, even with an anti-slip sheet in the bottom they fit in the Helmer with no problems at all. SOPI's are slightly taller than the Fergies and they also fit in the Helmer comfortably.


 And now I know what I want for Christmas!


----------



## DonnaD

Look at this setup I saw come across my facebook wall.  It was custom made for Nicole at Nail Polish Wars.  It cost $1200.  I would die for something like this!


----------



## naturalactions

Wow! To see everything I would need one of those sliding ladders like Belle used in the library in Beauty and the Beast...haha


----------



## Christa W

Quote: Originally Posted by *naturalactions* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Wow! To see everything I would need one of those sliding ladders like Belle used in the library in Beauty and the Beast...haha
You just gave me the best idea EVER!


----------



## feemia

Quote:Originally Posted by *DonnaD* /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Look at this setup I saw come across my facebook wall.  It was custom made for Nicole at Nail Polish Wars.  It cost $1200.  I would die for something like this!






Wow, it's just a bunch of 2x4s. Why on earth did it cost $1200?


----------



## Christa W

Quote: Originally Posted by *feemia* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Quote: Originally Posted by *DonnaD* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Look at this setup I saw come across my facebook wall.  It was custom made for Nicole at Nail Polish Wars.  It cost $1200.  I would die for something like this!

  
  





Wow, it's just a bunch of 2x4s. Why on earth did it cost $1200? I thought she said she could hold 1200 polishes.  Is that maybe where that number came in?  Although in my infinite search for polish storage I have seen racks cost that much.  They were usually stand alone.


----------



## DonnaD

No, it's $1200 and holds around 2000 bottles..  http://www.glwoodenthings.com/Nail-Polish-Storage-Unit-SU001.htm


----------



## Christa W

Quote: Originally Posted by *DonnaD* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  No, it's $1200 and holds around 2000 bottles..  http://www.glwoodenthings.com/Nail-Polish-Storage-Unit-SU001.htm 
Damn!  It's nice but worth that much??? I suppose being able to handle that amount of polish is important but sheesh that's more than I paid for my used car by $200


----------



## acostakk

> No, it's $1200 and holds around 2000 bottles.. Â http://www.glwoodenthings.com/Nail-Polish-Storage-Unit-SU001.htmÂ


 Huh. Pretty sure my dad could build that for less than $100, depending on the type of wood. Not that I'll ask him since we live in a rental in earthquake country. And all our wall space is covered in hubby's art. And husband and father would both flip if they actually saw the glory that that is my obsession....errr....collection


----------



## Christa W

Since I am in the process of redoing my wall racks they look like this....





I bought a new larger glue gun to fix them temporarily.  The rack on the far right was put together hastily and was sitting by a light so the glue got soft and they fell down.  I have moved the lamp so no more of that.  Can't wait to fix it until I can afford what I want to do.  In the meantime I have the ones that belong up there in this...





This is a cardboard stand that my boyfriend bought home when he worked at the pet store.  We use them for kitty beds hence the blanket on the 3rd tier.  It's pretty deep and is holding quite a lot of them.  He wanted me to fill the whole thing and paint it.  I told him only if we can add some LED lights because it gets dark in the cubbies.  It's the same reason I moved them off my IKEA bookshelf in the first place.


----------



## chrysalis101

Quote: Originally Posted by *DonnaD* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Look at this setup I saw come across my facebook wall.  It was custom made for Nicole at Nail Polish Wars.  It cost $1200.  I would die for something like this!




I think hubby would put an end to my polish hoarding before I got anywhere near this big. He's already dubious and I have less than 200.


----------



## Christa W

Boyfriend "helped" me by glue the shelves on my foam rack that were falling down. My hands are swollen and stiff and I can't squeeze the trigger.   Ever have someone do something for you that you asked but did it so badly you never, ever want to ask them for anything again??  Thank GOD I did not give him money to build me one out of wood.  I am so mortified.  I love him dearly but he's not handy whatsoever!  At least they are reinforced.


----------



## acostakk

My newest way to organize my pretties. It's a Snapware ornament organizer. I've been eyeing them online for a while, but it's impossible to find interior dimensions. My last Snapware was sooooo close to being perfect, but was too shallow for my tallest bottles by a fraction of an inch. As soon as I saw a display of these I had to have it! And shall now stalk the after Christmas sales hoping to snag a second cause, you know, those empty spaces aren't going to last long!!







Bottles are organized by brand, swatch sticks by color:


----------



## ZeeOmega

Quote: Originally Posted by *acostakk* /img/forum/go_quote.gif


Huh. Pretty sure my dad could build that for less than $100, depending on the type of wood. Not that I'll ask him since we live in a rental in earthquake country. And all our wall space is covered in hubby's art. And husband and father would both flip if they actually saw the glory that that is my obsession....errr....collection

The more and more I look at the blog post the more I'm convinced that it is indeed worth as much as she said, in terms of materials and time. That much particle board alone would cost you more than $100. As actual wood was used, as evidenced by the gorgeous wood grain, the materials alone would have cost a bit. They could have saved on cost of materials if they were taking from their own woods, but then there's the labor involved in cutting and planing - and let's not forget the type of tools you would need to achieve all that. Each level is actually three-tiered. That's a lot of detail work that adds up in terms of time. The end result is beautiful woodsmanship.


----------



## Christa W

I broke down and got to "Melmers" with the 60% off sale at Micheals.  I plan on keeping the 4 racks I have up and eventually replacing them with acrylic ones but for now I will continue to fix them and keep my favorites up there.  I am not sure where or how I will be stacking these.  My current mani table is only rated to hold about 110 lbs so I can not fill them or I will be in trouble.  I was going to copy the divider method that Frostkitty is doing with her Helmer so they can stay upright without falling over.  Problem with a Melmer is it's not a self sustaining drawer (not sure if a Helmer is) and it's not on casters but I only paid $16 each and it in theory can hold up to 600 vs a Helmer at 39.99 plus an hour and a half drive to my nearest Ikea.  I am not 100% happy but I needed the extra storage for now and at the very least I can store other stuff in them if I need to.  I dislike the Melmer on the floor because the bottom drawer is like literally on my floor.  It makes getting down to open it a kind of pain.  I would like to actually just put one on each side of the manicure desk and then have access to all of my most used polishes for stamping and nail art right where I can reach them.  Hoping the rest of my weekend involves some rearranging again!


----------



## BlackMagicRose

This is way before I filled it up, but I store a bunch of my polishes in an old OPI display rack. The only problem is that it only holds 36 polishes.


----------



## sleepykat

I recently tried out the Swivel Store spice rack for storing polish. I love it! It's not pretty, but it's very practical for me. I'm not looking to display my polish really, just have good storage and easy access while still being able to look at the bottle with a view other than just the top of the caps (that's the reason I didn't want the Helmer or drawers). I can store at least 28 polishes per rack (for OPI and China Glaze size; more for Julep and Zoya sizes) in only 4 inches of horizontal space. The depth is perfect for my closet shelves. I can pull it out and swivel it to look at the polishes, then swivel it back to storing in a narrow space. They retail for like $17.99, but I found mine at Ross for $7.99. There are some on eBay and Amazon. Here are two of them in my armoire (closet for Tried and armoire for Untried):




And in action, sliding out and swiveling:









I figure I would need about 15 racks total for my whole collection, although I haven't counted how many polishes I have for quite a while.


----------



## Christa W

Quote: Originally Posted by *sleepykat* /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I recently tried out the Swivel Store spice rack for storing polish. I love it! It's not pretty, but it's very practical for me. I'm not looking to display my polish really, just have good storage and easy access while still being able to look at the bottle with a view other than just the top of the caps (that's the reason I didn't want the Helmer or drawers). I can store at least 28 polishes per rack (for OPI and China Glaze size; more for Julep and Zoya sizes) in only 4 inches of horizontal space. The depth is perfect for my closet shelves. I can pull it out and swivel it to look at the polishes, then swivel it back to storing in a narrow space. They retail for like $17.99, but I found mine at Ross for $7.99. There are some on eBay and Amazon. Here are two of them in my armoire (closet for Tried and armoire for Untried):



And in action, sliding out and swiveling: 









I figure I would need about 15 racks total for my whole collection, although I haven't counted how many polishes I have for quite a while.
I like this.  I would not know where to put them though.  I may have to get one to put on my desk for my most frequently used ones.


----------



## sleepykat

Quote: Originally Posted by *Christa W* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Quote: Originally Posted by *sleepykat* /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I recently tried out the Swivel Store spice rack for storing polish. I love it! It's not pretty, but it's very practical for me. I'm not looking to display my polish really, just have good storage and easy access while still being able to look at the bottle with a view other than just the top of the caps (that's the reason I didn't want the Helmer or drawers). I can store at least 28 polishes per rack (for OPI and China Glaze size; more for Julep and Zoya sizes) in only 4 inches of horizontal space. The depth is perfect for my closet shelves. I can pull it out and swivel it to look at the polishes, then swivel it back to storing in a narrow space. They retail for like $17.99, but I found mine at Ross for $7.99. There are some on eBay and Amazon. Here are two of them in my armoire (closet for Tried and armoire for Untried):



And in action, sliding out and swiveling: 









I figure I would need about 15 racks total for my whole collection, although I haven't counted how many polishes I have for quite a while.
I like this.  I would not know where to put them though.  I may have to get one to put on my desk for my most frequently used ones.

Yes, you need to put them on a very stable surface; a sturdy shelf, table, desk, maybe a dresser or bedside table. They are not terribly sturdy. They won't easily break, either, don't worry. But they definitely need the support of a strong flat surface underneath them. I was easily able to carry them around between my closet and my armoire, so the portability is pretty good, too. I don't think I would carry them in the car, though.

I like that they will fit a lot of different bottle sizes and shapes. Juleps and Butter Londons were no problem. I'm not sure yet how I want to do it, but I want to have swatch sticks incorporated, too. I just recently started on swatch sticks. (Every time I say 'swatch sticks', my brother laughs because it sounds like 'swastikas' to him because it's a completely foreign term to him.)


----------



## viccckyhoang

some really great ideas  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> i'll post mine in a bit!


----------



## climb2thesky

Hey.This is my first post here. As you can see I love nail polish. There are about 500 polishes in this picture.

The shelf is expand a shelf from container store. It was about $15.

The tiered stand is from Michael's. I got them only black friday for $15 each. Normally $36. Its from the same collections as the melmer.


----------



## sleepykat

Quote: Originally Posted by *sleepykat* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Quote: Originally Posted by *Christa W* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Quote: Originally Posted by *sleepykat* /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I recently tried out the Swivel Store spice rack for storing polish. I love it! It's not pretty, but it's very practical for me. I'm not looking to display my polish really, just have good storage and easy access while still being able to look at the bottle with a view other than just the top of the caps (that's the reason I didn't want the Helmer or drawers). I can store at least 28 polishes per rack (for OPI and China Glaze size; more for Julep and Zoya sizes) in only 4 inches of horizontal space. The depth is perfect for my closet shelves. I can pull it out and swivel it to look at the polishes, then swivel it back to storing in a narrow space. They retail for like $17.99, but I found mine at Ross for $7.99. There are some on eBay and Amazon. Here are two of them in my armoire (closet for Tried and armoire for Untried):



And in action, sliding out and swiveling: 









I figure I would need about 15 racks total for my whole collection, although I haven't counted how many polishes I have for quite a while.
I like this.  I would not know where to put them though.  I may have to get one to put on my desk for my most frequently used ones.

Yes, you need to put them on a very stable surface; a sturdy shelf, table, desk, maybe a dresser or bedside table. They are not terribly sturdy. They won't easily break, either, don't worry. But they definitely need the support of a strong flat surface underneath them. I was easily able to carry them around between my closet and my armoire, so the portability is pretty good, too. I don't think I would carry them in the car, though.

I like that they will fit a lot of different bottle sizes and shapes. Juleps and Butter Londons were no problem. I'm not sure yet how I want to do it, but I want to have swatch sticks incorporated, too. I just recently started on swatch sticks. (Every time I say 'swatch sticks', my brother laughs because it sounds like 'swastikas' to him because it's a completely foreign term to him.)


Yay! I found a ton of these at Big Lots for $5.00 each. Yeah, I bought 12. My husband laughed. I didn't tell him that I still don't think they are going to fit all my polish.



 I've filled up 11 so far, including the 2 I had bought before the Big Lots trip. That is without organizing, though, just putting polish in. I think I can fit the most if I organize by brand/bottle shape. I am used to organizing by color, though. I think I want to somehow hang the swatch sticks on the outside; not sure if it will be practical.

A couple days ago I told myself that I was done buying polish for a while, and I didn't feel bad about it. Then llarowe.com had a 30% coupon for one day on certain brands...then I had Extra Bucks at CVS and they had new polishes displayed...then TJ Maxx had some very appealing Sephora by OPI shades...


----------



## sleepykat

Quote: Originally Posted by *climb2thesky* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  



Hey.This is my first post here. As you can see I love nail polish. There are about 500 polishes in this picture.

The shelf is expand a shelf from container store. It was about $15.

The tiered stand is from Michael's. I got them only black friday for $15 each. Normally $36. Its from the same collections as the melmer. 
Welcome to the party! You have a very nice collection. I like the look of the tiered stands.


----------



## Alley Victoria

Do you think you could give an estimate as to how many julep polishes fit in there? Thanks!


----------



## Alley Victoria

Quote: Originally Posted by *sleepykat* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  
Yay! I found a ton of these at Big Lots for $5.00 each. Yeah, I bought 12. My husband laughed. I didn't tell him that I still don't think they are going to fit all my polish.



 I've filled up 11 so far, including the 2 I had bought before the Big Lots trip. That is without organizing, though, just putting polish in. I think I can fit the most if I organize by brand/bottle shape. I am used to organizing by color, though. I think I want to somehow hang the swatch sticks on the outside; not sure if it will be practical.

A couple days ago I told myself that I was done buying polish for a while, and I didn't feel bad about it. Then llarowe.com had a 30% coupon for one day on certain brands...then I had Extra Bucks at CVS and they had new polishes displayed...then TJ Maxx had some very appealing Sephora by OPI shades...













Do any of you guys know how many Julep polishes will fit on here? I have a lottt of Julep polishes! Thanks!


----------



## Alley Victoria

Quote: Originally Posted by *sleepykat* /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I recently tried out the Swivel Store spice rack for storing polish. I love it! It's not pretty, but it's very practical for me. I'm not looking to display my polish really, just have good storage and easy access while still being able to look at the bottle with a view other than just the top of the caps (that's the reason I didn't want the Helmer or drawers). I can store at least 28 polishes per rack (for OPI and China Glaze size; more for Julep and Zoya sizes) in only 4 inches of horizontal space. The depth is perfect for my closet shelves. I can pull it out and swivel it to look at the polishes, then swivel it back to storing in a narrow space. They retail for like $17.99, but I found mine at Ross for $7.99. There are some on eBay and Amazon. Here are two of them in my armoire (closet for Tried and armoire for Untried):



And in action, sliding out and swiveling: 









I figure I would need about 15 racks total for my whole collection, although I haven't counted how many polishes I have for quite a while.
Do you think you could estimate how many Julep polishes would fit in there? Thanks!


----------



## sleepykat

Quote: Originally Posted by *Alley Victoria* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Quote: Originally Posted by *sleepykat* /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I recently tried out the Swivel Store spice rack for storing polish. I love it! It's not pretty, but it's very practical for me. I'm not looking to display my polish really, just have good storage and easy access while still being able to look at the bottle with a view other than just the top of the caps (that's the reason I didn't want the Helmer or drawers). I can store at least 28 polishes per rack (for OPI and China Glaze size; more for Julep and Zoya sizes) in only 4 inches of horizontal space. The depth is perfect for my closet shelves. I can pull it out and swivel it to look at the polishes, then swivel it back to storing in a narrow space. They retail for like $17.99, but I found mine at Ross for $7.99. There are some on eBay and Amazon. Here are two of them in my armoire (closet for Tried and armoire for Untried):



And in action, sliding out and swiveling: 









I figure I would need about 15 racks total for my whole collection, although I haven't counted how many polishes I have for quite a while.
Do you think you could estimate how many Julep polishes would fit in there? Thanks!

It would fit a lot of Julep polishes. I would think 64 or more.


----------



## Alley Victoria

Quote: Originally Posted by *sleepykat* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  It would fit a lot of Julep polishes. I would think 64 or more.
Awesome! Thanks so much!!


----------



## Christa W

I have gotten a ton of polish since I first posted here.  I think my collection is nearly doubled to over 810 and counting.  I am definitely going to get the 4 foam racks pictured replaced with acrylic ones when I can stop buying polish and buy them instead.  The left to the far left doesn't have anything on the top or bottom shelves because they are too weak.  It can get a bit warm in my office so I have to be careful of the glue.  I bought a better glue gun but repairs only last so long.  The small rack on the desk is just Hit Polish and then I have baskets for cotton balls, nail wheels, and misc files etc that tend to accumulate.  The entire desk is two small IKEA tables pushed together.  My work desk is in this room too so I use this desk for drawing, polish stuff, kitty beds etc.  I have another drafting table for art as well that's not in use currently.





On another wall under the window I have a 2 drawer unit that is 24"x12"x15" and that holds all my duplicates, older polishes and nail stripers.  Directly across from the computer is my polish creating desk and the rest of my polish.





I have an IKEA table as well that is longer than the other two I have.  In the corner is the matching IKEA end table with my 2 Melmers.  This is where the rest of the polishes are held.  I have the two pink rolling drawers as well holding extra supplies including the cotton balls, qtips, sponges, brushes (and one has nothing but snacks!) etc.  All my stamping stuff is the little pink basket on the table.  Sorry it's such a mess, I am in the process of reorganizing it.  I have a piece of waxed paper and a baggie taped to the table for reverse decals.  I am working on my light box and will have it just to the right of this on another end table.  It's green also so if I need to use my makeshift green screen I just have to move the table and I can photograph on it. 

I hate not seeing all of my polish so I am relying more on my nail wheels to help me choose my colors.  My boyfriend doesn't think my upstairs walls can support the weight and with the rapid growth of my collection it's going to get ridiculous trying to put all of them up.  The garbage can under the table is my extra sales flyers and junk mail I put under my paper towels when I stamp.  Oh and the jug of water is what I use for my water marbling when I find the courage to do it. 

I put another wooden storage shelf under the end table in case I do fill it, not sure of the weight that the table can hold and I wouldn't want it to collapse when a cat was napping underneath it.  For what it's worth I hate the Melmer drawers.  They are not self supporting so I have to hold them up.  The handle is great for me to do that with but it gets annoying FAST!  I didn't put rubber drawer liners in because I read it can eat away at the labels on the bottom of the polish so they all slide forward.  Working on doing something with card stock like seen above but the BF says when we go to IKEA again he will buy me a Helmer and we will use the Melmer for something else.  I got it on Black Friday do both cost me around $32 and fit a need so I am OK with it for now and can always use it to hold miniature or my art supplies later on.

Just kidding.  It's more pictures of how I store my polish.


 Top coats, base coats, misc polishes and nail art supplies



 All 3 drawers of the bottom Melmer.  As you can see the top 2 are far from full.



 Bottom shelf is completely packed.



 Sally Hansen Insta-Dri almost gets a drawer by themselves.







 My vintage and old polishes.


----------



## chrysalis101

Quote: Originally Posted by *Christa W* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  
I hate not seeing all of my polish so I am relying more on my nail wheels to help me choose my colors.  My boyfriend doesn't think my upstairs walls can support the weight and with the rapid growth of my collection it's going to get ridiculous trying to put all of them up.  The garbage can under the table is my extra sales flyers and junk mail I put under my paper towels when I stamp.  Oh and the jug of water is what I use for my water marbling when I find the courage to do it. 
 @Christa W  It is WAY possible to make wooden shelves. My hubby made me 2, and we live in an apartment (so no work space). They were so easy to make that I could have made them if he would have trusted me with his precious tools. We customized them to fit in the space we had. You can also customize how tall and wide they are. They're made out of 1X2's and some trim. If you make them some multiple of 16" wide then you can anchor them directly into the studs of your home and there should be no reason your walls couldn't hold them then. I have about 100 polishes on each unit. They are each held up only by 2 L brackets screwed into the wall. They cost about $30 for the materials for both of them and took an afternoon to make and paint. That's way cheaper than the acrylic ones I was seeing on Amazon, and they hold way more.


----------



## Christa W

> Â @Christa W Â  It is WAY possible to make wooden shelves. My hubby made me 2, and we live in an apartment (so no work space). They were so easy to make that I could have made them if he would have trusted me with his precious tools.Â We customized them to fit in the space we had. You can also customize how tall and wide they are. They're made out of 1X2's and some trim. If you make them some multiple of 16" wide then you can anchor them directly into the studs of your home and there should be no reason your walls couldn't hold them then. I have about 100 polishes on each unit. They are each held up only by 2 L brackets screwed into the wall. They cost about $30 for the materials for both of them and took an afternoon to make and paint. That's way cheaper than the acrylic ones I was seeing on Amazon, and they hold way more.


 A couple months ago my boyfriend and I went into Lowes with this exact idea in mind. I love the color of my walls and since it's such a light gray I didn't even want to put a back onto the shelves. I had done some considerable research on it and was eager to have him build me something. We ended up getting in a huge discussion and he got all stressed out. He thought because my upstairs walls were framed with metal studs instead of wood it wouldn't hold right and the cost of L brackets would be high since at the time we were thinking of building to shelf around 600 and it would have been 8' x 4' with around 8 shelves. I told him I could basically make them just like my foam ones in smaller sections like you mentioned and then put them together but he kept trying to be a man and find a better or different solution. I will maybe have to reconsider and do the work myself. He's a sweet guy just super stubborn so I bought the Melmer as a consolation prize LOL! I would LOVE to have either the acrylic racks or a custom shelf along that entire wall. I have a stuffed animal hammock hanging in the corner so I can't go all the way to the other wall but there is a good 16" on the left and another 10" on the right that I could expand which would put it around 8' in length. Thank you for your suggestion and encouragement. I hope that is what we can do but if not and he would rather spend the money and feel less anxious, I am willing to accept that too.


----------



## wrkreads

Quote: Originally Posted by *chrysalis101* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
   @Christa W  It is WAY possible to make wooden shelves. My hubby made me 2, and we live in an apartment (so no work space). They were so easy to make that I could have made them if he would have trusted me with his precious tools. We customized them to fit in the space we had. You can also customize how tall and wide they are. They're made out of 1X2's and some trim. If you make them some multiple of 16" wide then you can anchor them directly into the studs of your home and there should be no reason your walls couldn't hold them then. I have about 100 polishes on each unit. They are each held up only by 2 L brackets screwed into the wall. They cost about $30 for the materials for both of them and took an afternoon to make and paint. That's way cheaper than the acrylic ones I was seeing on Amazon, and they hold way more.

This is what I did (pictures somewhere on this thread). I have 2 shelves right now, but need a third desperately.


----------



## Christa W

Quote: Originally Posted by *wrkreads* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  
This is what I did (pictures somewhere on this thread). I have 2 shelves right now, but need a third desperately.
LOL I actually saved those pictures when I was your santa so I could blow it up and look at what you have!!!  I think it's way easier than my other half seems to think.  I just brought it up again and he was like "L brackets alone are $2.00 each"... he's annoying when he gets stuck on an idea.  Drives me nuts.  I always have to prove him wrong or he won't budge so I guess I would have to actually assemble them myself (I have no crafty friends of family near me) and show him instead.


----------



## wrkreads

Quote: Originally Posted by *Christa W* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
LOL I actually saved those pictures when I was your santa so I could blow it up and look at what you have!!!  I think it's way easier than my other half seems to think.  I just brought it up again and he was like "L brackets alone are $2.00 each"... he's annoying when he gets stuck on an idea.  Drives me nuts.  I always have to prove him wrong or he won't budge so I guess I would have to actually assemble them myself (I have no crafty friends of family near me) and show him instead.

LOL, that's awesome.

I actually didn't use L brackets, I attached hanging loop brackets at the top and just hung on screws. I don't know the name of the brackets thingies I used, so buying them was fun. I went into the hardware store, found an older man working and told him I was looking for "hanger bracket loopy things" while making a picture with my fingers. The young guy standing with him looked uber confused, but the older guy was like "I think I know what you mean", and went and picked them right up. The young guy was utterly amazed. Moral of the story: always look for the older guy in the hardware store.


----------



## Christa W

Quote: Originally Posted by *wrkreads* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  
LOL, that's awesome.

I actually didn't use L brackets, I attached hanging loop brackets at the top and just hung on screws. I don't know the name of the brackets thingies I used, so buying them was fun. I went into the hardware store, found an older man working and told him I was looking for "hanger bracket loopy things" while making a picture with my fingers. The young guy standing with him looked uber confused, but the older guy was like "I think I know what you mean", and went and picked them right up. The young guy was utterly amazed.* Moral of the story: always look for the older guy in the hardware store*.

LOL!  That's awesome!  I thought about doing that.  Did you only then put them on the top?


----------



## wrkreads

Quote: Originally Posted by *Christa W* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Quote: Originally Posted by *wrkreads* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  
LOL, that's awesome.

I actually didn't use L brackets, I attached hanging loop brackets at the top and just hung on screws. I don't know the name of the brackets thingies I used, so buying them was fun. I went into the hardware store, found an older man working and told him I was looking for "hanger bracket loopy things" while making a picture with my fingers. The young guy standing with him looked uber confused, but the older guy was like "I think I know what you mean", and went and picked them right up. The young guy was utterly amazed.* Moral of the story: always look for the older guy in the hardware store*.

LOL!  That's awesome!  I thought about doing that.  Did you only then put them on the top?


Yes, I attached just to the top row. one in each corner. Here's a close up of the one on the purple shelf. The bottom part of the bracket ended up painted.


----------



## BlackMagicRose

Okay, this is not meant in a mean way, so please don't take it that way, but how can a person ever use hundreds of nail polishes? Even if you wore one a day for a few years, you wouldn't even be able to put a dent in the polishes. Is it more the thrill of collecting something, having many options, and liking the way they look in a room? I personally have more makeup than one person could reasonably use, and I am working on not buying more and using some of what I have, but it is still a little hard for me to understand collecting so many nail polishes. I frequently wear nail polish, but I don't think I have ever actually gone through a bottle.


----------



## Christa W

Quote: Originally Posted by *BlackMagicRose* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Okay, this is not meant in a mean way, so please don't take it that way, but how can a person ever use hundreds of nail polishes? Even if you wore one a day for a few years, you wouldn't even be able to put a dent in the polishes. Is it more the thrill of collecting something, having many options, and liking the way they look in a room? I personally have more makeup than one person could reasonably use, and I am working on not buying more and using some of what I have, but it is still a little hard for me to understand collecting so many nail polishes. I frequently wear nail polish, but I don't think I have ever actually gone through a bottle. 




I have been collecting and wearing nail polish for the better part of 25 years with a period of about 5 where I didn't buy much of any.  A lot of what I have I have gone through full bottles.  I do my nails nearly every day plus my toes at least once per week.  I also used to use the polish for crafts.  I didn't have any paints one year and I made homemade ornaments from glue, applesauce and cinnamon and that's what I used to do them.  I haven't used it for jewelery yet or any of the ball ornaments but there is that side to it.  I do other people's nails too.  My boyfriend's mom used to get her nails painted at the salon but knows I have far more than anyone else so she come over here to do them.  My mom lives with me 6 months out of the year and she does hers too. 

Secondly I do a lot of nail art.  I may never wear a particular shade as a full mani but it's the perfect flesh color for filling in a decal or the perfect foil shade for a stamping accent.  Many times I do "skittlette" manicures where I may use 10 colors in one mani.  I have similar shades but no many dupes believe it or not.  I enjoy having access to do whatever suits me at the time.  I have even had to franken my own colors because what I am creating does not have the right shade in my stash.  I have a huge variety of polishes in terms of finishes from foils, textures, glitters, thermals, etc. 

For me personally, there is no doubt I do it as a collection just as much as the beauty aspect.  Collecting limited editions and special promos plus I bargain shop so getting the Sephora by OPI 18k gold topper at Big Lots for $1.80 is more satisfying in some aspects.  If I were to just buy everything full price and at the drug store probably not.  I enjoy looking at them, cataloging them, playing with them and swatching them.  Literally almost every night while we are watching TV you can catch me playing with the nail wheels.  When I get home with a haul that's my favorite part of the day.  I collect other things too.  I have around 150 lip balms.  I don't wear them often at all.  I keep them in a little bin in my office so I can play with them too and when I get in the mood to put a Mt. Dew flavored balm on, I can because I have one. 

I get where you are coming from and I do not take offense.  Some people think I am crazy.  With a little care and some thinner by your side, polish never expires.  I can still use things that have been my go to for 10 years without a second thought. 

Lastly, I have been able to take my love of polish and find this site as well as enter a community of like minded ladies that has changed my life.  I love knowing I am not the only one out there like me.


----------



## Christa W

Quote: Originally Posted by *wrkreads* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  
Yes, I attached just to the top row. one in each corner. Here's a close up of the one on the purple shelf. The bottom part of the bracket ended up painted.




OOOOOH!!!  OK.  I am going to show the stubborn guy this!!!  Thank you so much!


----------



## BlackMagicRose

Quote: Originally Posted by *Christa W* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  I have been collecting and wearing nail polish for the better part of 25 years with a period of about 5 where I didn't buy much of any.  A lot of what I have I have gone through full bottles.  I do my nails nearly every day plus my toes at least once per week.  I also used to use the polish for crafts.  I didn't have any paints one year and I made homemade ornaments from glue, applesauce and cinnamon and that's what I used to do them.  I haven't used it for jewelery yet or any of the ball ornaments but there is that side to it.  I do other people's nails too.  My boyfriend's mom used to get her nails painted at the salon but knows I have far more than anyone else so she come over here to do them.  My mom lives with me 6 months out of the year and she does hers too. 

Secondly I do a lot of nail art.  I may never wear a particular shade as a full mani but it's the perfect flesh color for filling in a decal or the perfect foil shade for a stamping accent.  Many times I do "skittlette" manicures where I may use 10 colors in one mani.  I have similar shades but no many dupes believe it or not.  I enjoy having access to do whatever suits me at the time.  I have even had to franken my own colors because what I am creating does not have the right shade in my stash.  I have a huge variety of polishes in terms of finishes from foils, textures, glitters, thermals, etc. 

For me personally, there is no doubt I do it as a collection just as much as the beauty aspect.  Collecting limited editions and special promos plus I bargain shop so getting the Sephora by OPI 18k gold topper at Big Lots for $1.80 is more satisfying in some aspects.  If I were to just buy everything full price and at the drug store probably not.  I enjoy looking at them, cataloging them, playing with them and swatching them.  Literally almost every night while we are watching TV you can catch me playing with the nail wheels.  When I get home with a haul that's my favorite part of the day.  I collect other things too.  I have around 150 lip balms.  I don't wear them often at all.  I keep them in a little bin in my office so I can play with them too and when I get in the mood to put a Mt. Dew flavored balm on, I can because I have one. 

I get where you are coming from and I do not take offense.  Some people think I am crazy.  With a little care and some thinner by your side, polish never expires.  I can still use things that have been my go to for 10 years without a second thought. 

Lastly, I have been able to take my love of polish and find this site as well as enter a community of like minded ladies that has changed my life.  I love knowing I am not the only one out there like me. 
Thanks for replying and not being offended! It actually does make more sense to me now (not that it mattered whether it made sense to ME anyway). I never thought of using nail polish for crafts, and the social aspect never really occurred to me either (I don't know that many other people that collect makeup like me or do their nails a lot). It certainly is a beautiful collection no matter what it's used for. Their is something very artistic about seeing a wall mounted polish collection. I don't feel like anyone should feel like they have to defend their collections, but I was curious about why people amass huge collections of polish, since I don't personally collect very many polishes. It's very cool!


----------



## sleepykat

> Â  Okay, this is not meant in a mean way, so please don't take it that way, but how can a person ever use hundreds of nail polishes? Even if you wore one a day for a few years, you wouldn't even be able to put a dent in the polishes. Is it more the thrill of collecting something, having many options, and liking the way they look in a room? I personally have more makeup than one person could reasonably use, and I am working on not buying more and using some of what I have, but it is still a little hard for me to understand collecting so many nail polishes. I frequently wear nail polish, but I don't think I have ever actually gone through a bottle.Â :icon_razz
> 
> 
> 
> I have been collecting and wearing nail polish for the better part of 25 years with a period of about 5 where I didn't buy much of any.Â  A lot of what I have I have gone through full bottles.Â  I do my nails nearly every day plus my toes at least once per week.Â  I also used to use the polish for crafts.Â  I didn't have any paints one year and I made homemade ornaments from glue, applesauce and cinnamon and that's what I used to do them.Â  I haven't used it for jewelery yet or any of the ball ornaments but there is that side to it.Â  I do other people's nails too.Â  My boyfriend's mom used to get her nails painted at the salon but knows I have far more than anyone else so she come over here to do them.Â  My mom lives with me 6 months out of the year and she does hers too.Â  Secondly I do a lot of nail art.Â  I may never wear a particular shade as a full mani but it's the perfect flesh color for filling in a decal or the perfect foil shade for a stamping accent.Â  Many times I do "skittlette" manicures where I may use 10 colors in one mani.Â  I have similar shades but no many dupes believe it or not.Â  I enjoy having access to do whatever suits me at the time.Â  I have even had to franken my own colors because what I am creating does not have the right shade in my stash.Â  I have a huge variety of polishes in terms of finishes from foils, textures, glitters, thermals, etc.Â  For me personally, there is no doubt I do it as a collection just as much as the beauty aspect.Â  Collecting limited editions and special promos plus I bargain shop so getting the Sephora by OPI 18k gold topper at Big Lots for $1.80 is more satisfying in some aspects.Â  If I were to just buy everything full price and at the drug store probably not.Â  I enjoy looking at them, cataloging them, playing with them and swatching them.Â  Literally almost every night while we are watching TV you can catch me playing with the nail wheels.Â  When I get home with a haul that's my favorite part of the day.Â  I collect other things too.Â  I have around 150 lip balms.Â  I don't wear them often at all.Â  I keep them in a little bin in my office so I can play with them too and when I get in the mood to put a Mt. Dew flavored balm on, I can because I have one.Â  I get where you are coming from and I do not take offense.Â  Some people think I am crazy.Â  With a little care and some thinner by your side, polish never expires.Â  I can still use things that have been my go to for 10 years without a second thought.Â  Lastly, I have been able to take my love of polish and find this site as well as enter a community of like minded ladies that has changed my life.Â  I love knowing I am not the only one out there like me.Â
Click to expand...

 Very good explanation. Also, for me, I don't do any other forms of art besides makeup and nail polish, so it is my entire artistic expression. Could an artist have too many mediums to work with? Every nuance of color, texture and finish matters to me and brings joy to my heart. I almost always buy my polish at a steep discount, which has a thrill of its own. I do my friends and family's nails whenever I get a chance. And like Christa said, a lot of nail looks require multiple polishes. I don't spend money on decorating, I don't get my hair dyed or other salon services, I hardly ever buy clothes or shoes or jewelry. Cosmetics are my thing.


----------



## Kristen121

My collection isn't anywher as nearly impressive as the other on this thread. I have a caddy with remover, files, and a few current favorite colors that i can easily bring to where ever i want to do my mani. The rest goes in a plastic storage box. I store everything under the bathroom sink.


----------



## lebeautydiaries

Quote: Originally Posted by *maeiland* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Here is my storage solution. You can find these all over ebay and amazon. I need another one because all of my nail polish doesn't fit on just one.





I love this! Lol. I feel like I'm at the nail salon  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## wrkreads

A year ago I had few polishes. Now I have close to 200. I love the visual colour on the wall, and love being able to mood match my polish. I think that if you get into something, you like to have options. When I used to knit a lot, I had tons of needle sizes and yarns. When I made jewelry I had tons of beads and charms and findings. If you paint, you want lots of colours, whether it is oil, acrylic or nail polish. I'm not ashamed of my collection, and so choose to display it in a way I can it every day.


----------



## chrysalis101

Quote: Originally Posted by *BlackMagicRose* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Okay, this is not meant in a mean way, so please don't take it that way, but how can a person ever use hundreds of nail polishes? Even if you wore one a day for a few years, you wouldn't even be able to put a dent in the polishes. Is it more the thrill of collecting something, having many options, and liking the way they look in a room? I personally have more makeup than one person could reasonably use, and I am working on not buying more and using some of what I have, but it is still a little hard for me to understand collecting so many nail polishes. I frequently wear nail polish, but I don't think I have ever actually gone through a bottle. 




I have about 200 polishes. I've been collecting for about 2 years now. I too go to BigLots to get good polish at cheap prices. I also watch out for coupons (yes, they exist for polish) and sales and try very hard to combine them. I have ran out of a few polishes, like my favorite blue and a couple of whites. I used to do my nails about 4-6 times a week, life is busier now, so I only do them about 2 times a week. I have done a few other people's nails, but it's usually just me. Although, my 3 year old is wanting her nails painted as soon as they chip now, but I'm not sure if you can count her tiny nails. I always do nail art. You will almost never find me with just a plain mani or french tip. So I have a bunch of different colors to accomodate the art.

All of that said, my hubby has said that I need to either cut back on polish purchases or find another house because we're out of wall space to put another polish rack....I'm trying to find another house.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> He doesn't understand the polish obsession, but he doesn't really mind it either. I rarely spend more than $3-5 on a bottle (usually less than that), and "Happy Wife, Happy Life."

There's only 2 collections that I've tried to buy every one that I could get my hands on, and I've failed both times. But I do enjoy looking at all the pretty little bottles hanging on my bathroom wall. FYI, it's the downstairs half bath, so it doesn't get too humid.


----------



## chrysalis101

Quote: Originally Posted by *Christa W* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  LOL I actually saved those pictures when I was your santa so I could blow it up and look at what you have!!!  I think it's way easier than my other half seems to think.  I just brought it up again and he was like "L brackets alone are $2.00 each"... he's annoying when he gets stuck on an idea.  Drives me nuts.  I always have to prove him wrong or he won't budge so I guess I would have to actually assemble them myself (I have no crafty friends of family near me) and show him instead.

I don't remember how much my L brackets were, but I don't think they were $2 each...maybe $2 a pair (they're sold in pairs). I have a very anylitical husband who occationally goes on a penny pinching spree where it concerns my polish.

Anyway, here's what I would do. Figure out exactly what you want. Draw it out and figure out what materials you're going to need. IE so many feet of 1X2, so many screws, so many feet of trim, so much paint, so many L brackets (which I think is the whole material list). Then go to the store and price it all out. Compair what you just priced out to a pre-built acrylic rack on amazon. Don't forget how much polish your rack can hold vs. the pre-built ones.


----------



## numbersmom

> A couple months ago my boyfriend and I went into Lowes with this exact idea in mind. I love the color of my walls and since it's such a light gray I didn't even want to put a back onto the shelves. I had done some considerable research on it and was eager to have him build me something. We ended up getting in a huge discussion and he got all stressed out. He thought because my upstairs walls were framed with metal studs instead of wood it wouldn't hold right and the cost of L brackets would be high since at the time we were thinking of building to shelf around 600 and it would have been 8' x 4' with around 8 shelves. I told him I could basically make them just like my foam ones in smaller sections like you mentioned and then put them together but he kept trying to be a man and find a better or different solution. I will maybe have to reconsider and do the work myself. He's a sweet guy just super stubborn so I bought the Melmer as a consolation prize LOL! I would LOVE to have either the acrylic racks or a custom shelf along that entire wall. *I have a stuffed animal hammock hanging in the corner so I can't go all the way to the other wall* but there is a good 16" on the left and another 10" on the right that I could expand which would put it around 8' in length. Thank you for your suggestion and encouragement. I hope that is what we can do but if not and he would rather spend the money and feel less anxious, I am willing to accept that too.


 Awe, this made me think of mine when I was a kid. I miss that hammock. Lol


----------



## Christa W

Quote: Originally Posted by *numbersmom* /img/forum/go_quote.gif


Awe, this made me think of mine when I was a kid. I miss that hammock. Lol
It's hard to see how many there are in here!  I never had one as a kid so this is me living out that dream at the tender age of 36 

 My office is literally the room I never had as a child/teen.  Well I had awesome rooms as a kid.  Even had one of those Hide n' Sleep bed tents.  But this room is literally a reflection of me and the ultimate in girly fun.  My boyfriend never comes in here because he hates it.  However, in a few months he will be coming to work at home and we work for the same company doing the same thing so he will be invading my Polish Cave.  I refuse to change anything or let him bring in any of his stuff!!!  He's going to have to work right under Rainbow Brite and there is NOTHING he can do about it!!!!
On another note, my Melmer is completely full.  I ended up having to take quite a bit of polish off of my foam racks due to the fact it's been a bit chilly here in Florida and I had to turn on the heat.  This, coupled with a lamp near them, has caused the glue to get warm and the shelves to begin to sag very badly.  I am planning a trip to Lowes this afternoon to look for those brackets mentioned by wkreads.  I desperately need to get different shelving in here.  Wish me luck ladies!!!


----------



## Mokey8

I like this idea.  I am going to try it out sometime.  Thanks for sharing!

Quote:

Originally Posted by *bonita22* /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I have a DIY nail polish rack. It cost me under $5 to make and it looks very good. Very sturdy.

I followed the instructions from this page:
http://krystalmonique.tumblr.com/post/12792201409/diy-nail-polish-rack


----------



## LydiaNichole

I store mine in a "snap &amp; go" container I found for around $8 at Wal-Mart.(I'm not the biggest fan of the hanging wall storage units; we're long overdue for an earthquake in our area, so I felt like this was a safer option.) I like that I can tuck it away out of site, and that I'm able to store them away from windows and sunlight so they last longer. It holds everything well, even the taller Julep polishes. Inside of the containers, I repurposed some of my old Glossyboxes to act like a divider for now. (I have around 150 polishes in there.)


----------



## JuliaGhostx3

I used to keep my nail polish collection in one of these drawers:




But all of my OPIs, SOPIs, and Sally Hansens were too tall, and had to lay on their backs.
Then my sister got me the One Direction perfume gift set from Macy's for Christmas (Don't laugh lmao, the perfume actually smells nice to mee)
And the box is the PERFECT size/height for my nail polish!








I don't have a lot of nail polish, but wow, I just realised that this is 3x more than I had in the beginning of December..


----------



## hotpinkglitter

My collection is in a really cute leopard print trunk that I found at Ross for less than $10. It's adorable and leaves a lot of room to expand my collection!


----------



## DreamWarrior

lol. This thread is awesome.  I love the swivel spice rack idea... someone needs to wizen up the company and tell them if they add an extra shelf, they can easily touch a new market.


----------



## sleepykat

Quote: Originally Posted by *DreamWarrior* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  lol. This thread is awesome.  I love the swivel spice rack idea... someone needs to wizen up the company and tell them if they add an extra shelf, they can easily touch a new market.

I just bought a couple more of them at Big Lots; loving them.


----------



## ellesnails

I have a helmer. I upgraded from a melmer (which I so still use) after a trip to the city. Love it. I use it as a little night stand. Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk


----------



## luckyme502

I have two five drawer Alex units and a nine drawer Alex unit.


----------



## swarna

I store my nail polish in this rotating rack. It fits upto 140 bottles and I currently have 55. I filled up 2 sides only so I don't have to rotate it yet but I like this rack. All the polish is visible and doesn't take up much space in my closet.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004W2XOIM/ref=oh_details_o07_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1


----------



## Christa W

I found this picture of how I used to store them before I built my racks and bought my Melmers.  As this grew I started taking over the entire shelving unit to the right filling it up and it was so dark I had them like 15 deep and I could NEVER see what I was looking for.  My collection was so cute back then.  This was April of 2013.  I now have 944 at last count.  That's 5 completely full Melmer draws and 4 full wall racks.


----------



## Christa W

Anyone here with that has a Helmer.. can you tell me how well made the drawers are?  I have a "Melmer" and one of my drawers is bowing out the bottom significantly and it's not even filled up with bottles.  I realize these things were not meant to hold that much weight but I had hoped to at least fill each drawer up.  I am running out of space.  My collection has gained around 800 polishes from when I first started collecting again almost a year ago.  I am working on the wall racks but I hadn't planned on putting all 1100 polishes on the wall.  Maybe not even half that.  I loved the Melmer while it lasted and am incredibly disappointed it's failing on me now.


----------



## shandimessmer

I have all of my polished stored in a Helmer, organized by brand. It's the best solution I have found. I'm not a huge fan of the wall shelves because I have a variety of brands and OCD, so it always looks so cluttered to me :/


----------



## sleepykat

I'm still loving my Swivel Stores, but I can never decide 100% if I prefer to sort by color or by brand. I love how they look so neat when stored by brand, but I also want to have a good visual on potential dupes to compare and see if they are similar on the nail or only in the bottle. I was thinking lately maybe I'll store my Trieds by brand and my Untrieds by color, since I store them separately. I did build a little tiered set of shelves out of Birchboxes and a Glossybox today for fun. It's not pretty, but it's currently holding 50 bottles quite nicely. I have enough boxes to make another. I was thinking of putting Untrieds in them and keeping my Swivel Stores for Trieds that I'm keeping (if I won't wear them again they go for trade or to friends).


----------



## kaitlynns

I have the commercial rack for sinful nail polish that held 72 colors, 6 deep that is completely full of opi, essie, and loreal bijou nail(best nail polish ever!) and i have several totes that have even more. I'm looking to get an opi waterfall tower soon so i can see all the colors better.


----------



## Christa W

Thrift shopping today was a huge success.  I got 2 wooden spice racks for less than $20.  I also picked up a spinning organizer/caddy from Goodwill for $5.00 and I plan on putting all my supplies in there or maybe even just the polishes I access the most for stamping/nail art.  It's fairly large and I am sure I will find a use for it some places.  (I will upload pic of it later my photostream is acting up.





I plan on painting the racks white.  I may leave them though.. they are kind of vintage to me.  The taller one looks homemade.  I can just picture some handy husband making his doting wife spice racks for the kitchen where she treats the family to pies and cookies.


----------



## acostakk

Christa W said:


> Thrift shopping today was a huge success.  I got 2 wooden spice racks for less than $20.  I also picked up a spinning organizer/caddy from Goodwill for $5.00 and I plan on putting all my supplies in there or maybe even just the polishes I access the most for stamping/nail art.  It's fairly large and I am sure I will find a use for it some places.  (I will upload pic of it later my photostream is acting up.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> new racks.jpg
> 
> I plan on painting the racks white.  I may leave them though.. they are kind of vintage to me.  The taller one looks homemade.  I can just picture some handy husband making his doting wife spice racks for the kitchen where she treats the family to pies and cookies.


That is a fantastic find!


----------



## Lumaday

I have mine in a vintage wooden crate meant to hold grapes.  It works well because it's a decent size and has short sides so I can see them all from the top, but with my recent Zoya order I now don't have enough space.  I think I'm around 200 polishes now.  I'd like to get some shelve like Christa just posted!


----------



## sstich79

A little advice needed... and I bet you ladies will have the answer! I've seen mixed reviews on storing nail polish on its side, but I recently bought an old 60-drawer library card catalog and was thinking that it would be the perfect way to store/organize my polishes, since I'm not worried about displaying them. I mean, each color could have its own drawer! Or alphabetical brands! And the drawers would be labeled all cutely, library-style, for easy access! But OPI polish bottles just barely fit when closing the drawers, so anything taller would have to end up on its side.


----------



## Christa W

After putting polish on the shelf I think I am going to end up painting it.  I want to do white shelves with the backboard light gray to match the paint on the walls.  I think the way they are is way too dark.  Here is my Sally Hansen Insta-Dri collection.


----------



## Christa W

sstich79 said:


> A little advice needed... and I bet you ladies will have the answer! I've seen mixed reviews on storing nail polish on its side, but I recently bought an old 60-drawer library card catalog and was thinking that it would be the perfect way to store/organize my polishes, since I'm not worried about displaying them. I mean, each color could have its own drawer! Or alphabetical brands! And the drawers would be labeled all cutely, library-style, for easy access! But OPI polish bottles just barely fit when closing the drawers, so anything taller would have to end up on its side.


I think the issue is that it can actually leak into the cap and if it dries you can't get them off.  I've ruined a bottle or two that way when I used to store the in a plastic shoe box.  I am also super OCD so now that I really care about them, the idea drives me insane.  I get annoyed when they are not all facing the same direction.   I love your storage solution and can't wait to see it when it's done.  Maybe you can get another storage for the taller ones.


----------



## Nicole Butz

I bought plastic nail polish racks online. They go in my closet. My thing is I have to have all my polish on display or I will forget about some and never use them.


----------



## disconik

I bought my first helmer (red) over the weekend!  It was a fun and easy little project putting it together with my boyfriend.  You definitely have to be careful when you pull the drawers out once they're full since there's no drawer catch at the back to keep it from just coming all the way out.  But I'm loving it so far!


----------



## CaseyR

I'm so envious of all these cool displays everyone has!  Mine just sits on an organizer space.. lol  One of these days I'd like to get a rack for the wall to display all of mine.


----------



## LeslieJohnson

Keep your nail polishes away from direct sunlight. Don't put them in fridge.


----------



## sstich79

Christa W said:


> I think the issue is that it can actually leak into the cap and if it dries you can't get them off.  I've ruined a bottle or two that way when I used to store the in a plastic shoe box.  I am also super OCD so now that I really care about them, the idea drives me insane.  I get annoyed when they are not all facing the same direction.   I love your storage solution and can't wait to see it when it's done.  Maybe you can get another storage for the taller ones.


Ah, yes, good point... and I also saw someone mention that the brushes can dry out if they wind up exposed in a bottle that's not full enough to cover the brush when lying flat. I think what I need to do is get my handyman dad to help me figure out how to put together some kind of little angled rack type of thing to go in the drawers, so the bottles can be at a bit of an angle... that way I could see the colors easily at a glance, while avoiding the problems of laying them flat. And I'll definitely share a pic when I've got it all finished!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## LadyJ89

I have around 250 nail polishes, so I store them by colours on my tall wooden ex CD rack  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## feemia

sstich79 said:


> I think what I need to do is get my handyman dad to help me figure out how to put together some kind of little angled rack type of thing to go in the drawers, so the bottles can be at a bit of an angle... that way I could see the colors easily at a glance, while avoiding the problems of laying them flat. And I'll definitely share a pic when I've got it all finished!


You can do it yourself.  You just need weather stripping tape, strips of wood and a hand saw to cut the wood to the correct length.

I modified this idea for drawer dividers from family handyman. http://www.familyhandyman.com/storage-organization/easy-organization/view-all#step4  I just put the strips of wood in at an angle instead of straight.


----------



## BSquared

So many good ideas in here! My collection isn't huge (maybe 50 or so) but I need to organize. It's currently all just thrown in a sephora box from an online order. Something I keep meaning to do but never get around to is to organize it!


----------



## acostakk

feemia said:


> You can do it yourself.  You just need weather stripping tape, strips of wood and a hand saw to cut the wood to the correct length.
> 
> I modified this idea for drawer dividers from family handyman. http://www.familyhandyman.com/storage-organization/easy-organization/view-all#step4  I just put the strips of wood in at an angle instead of straight.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 2014-06-05 18.13.19.jpg
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 2014-06-05 18.20.45.jpg


Ooooh. The wheels are churning now! Love my Helmer for its ability to hold everything. Dislike not being able to really separate brands within the drawers or see the bottles. We now live closer to dad who has every tool imaginable and tons of wood scraps. Hmmmmmmmmmm


----------



## gidgetagogo

I have my collection of maybe 300 polishes in several heavy duty cardboard, decorative boxes. They each have a handle and latch closed. When I travel and I want to bring some with me I just put a towel over the polish to make it so they don't shift. I've had them for several years and they have held up great including a move. The boxes can be found at TJ Maxx or Micheals type stores. Mine are organized by brand then color and each swatched on a heavy sketch paper I have a sheet for each brand. It makes it really easy to see all my colors at once without having to even open the boxes. I keep them in the corner of the living room since I do change my polish almost daily and don't have the space to display them. My perfume collection competes for display space and has won.


----------



## Monika1

Kyuu said:


> Hm... am I the only person who prefers to sort by brand rather than colour? I see almost everyone sort by brand by the colour is more important to me...
> 
> I keep moving around or else I'd buy a permanent fixture to store my nail polish. While I wasn't looking, I'm probably somewhere in the 150-200 range now (esp if I count my minis, sigh).


I sort by colour right now. They're in boxes. I have them all listed on my computer, but I haven't done swatches for myself, so when I'm thinking of doing something in a certain colour, I'll just go look at them and choose the ones I want. Alternately, I'll look at my list and choose something I haven't tried and work around that. The only problem comes when I put away that pale mauve-lavendar shade I originally decided was pink in the purples box!


----------



## acostakk

I modified the suggestion to create drawer dividers with weather stripping and scrap wood. Instead, I just used weather stripping to create custom rows in each drawer to keep things from sliding around.




I love my swatch sticks, but have struggled with how to store them in a way that makes picking a color or checking for dupes simple. New house, new space, new ideas!


----------



## CaseyR

So I ordered what was dubbed as a nail polish organizer (among other things) from eBay, and I realized upon its arrival today that it's more than just a little bit on the small side (as the photo shows)... I never actually measured it before ordering lol Oh well. Anyway, it's not a total loss as it holds my lipsticks, eyeliners, and mascaras quite decently for $5.00.  I guess my search continues, for now!


----------



## emilycarter

thanks &lt;3


----------



## danceabbs2016

I made one of those DIY organizers out of 2 plates and candle holders and painted them gray. Then placed all of my nail polish on them!


----------



## Ryan Chamberlain

I'll try to get storage pics sometime. But, I just redid everything on Friday. Still using 5 boxes. 4 big cardboard boxes plus one small plastic rubbermaid box.

I used to sort by brand and have 2 or 3 good brands in each box. And, the cheapies in one box all to themselves. But, on Friday. I decided to sort by color. I have a box of pinks/reds/fuchsias. Then I have 2 blues/greens/purples boxes (you see what I like), Then I have a box of browns/oranges/duocromes then I have a glitters box, and then a neutrals box which is my smallest. Whoa. And, I still have 2 polishes coming in the mail and then whatever I buy today.


----------



## tigerlilly523

I just did this the other day. It's divided into warm colors vs cool colors, and the smaller top box contains nail files, clippers, etc. The bins were like $2 each at Target.


----------



## chaostheory

I used to store my polishes in anchor hocking glass jars, but I have too many now! I opted to do what many people have done onlkne and that's to get spice racks from IKEA and paint them. I think I'll add one more shelf because it's pretty full but here's the outcome.


----------



## Monika1

Christa W said:


> After putting polish on the shelf I think I am going to end up painting it.  I want to do white shelves with the backboard light gray to match the paint on the walls.  I think the way they are is way too dark.  Here is my Sally Hansen Insta-Dri collection.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> IMG_6913.JPG


Wow Christa, I so admire this collection! It's awesome to have all of those colours fantastic for stamping.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## ssunnysideup

acostakk said:


> I love my swatch sticks, but have struggled with how to store them in a way that makes picking a color or checking for dupes simple. New house, new space, new ideas!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> image.jpg


Wow this method is amazin. I also swatch them on sticks like this:






I'm now at about 300 - 350 polishes, if I just count my polishes without base and top coat and other stuff like this. 

They are now stored in two helmers and I have to say I pretty much like this system. They are sorted by brand and by color in case you wanna know.


----------



## Monika1

ssunnysideup said:


> Wow this method is amazin. I also swatch them on sticks like this:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm now at about 300 - 350 polishes, if I just count my polishes without base and top coat and other stuff like this.
> 
> They are now stored in two helmers and I have to say I pretty much like this system. They are sorted by brand and by color in case you wanna know.


Nice! I like the swatch fan. I actually haven't swatched my colours at all - it feels weird to invest in swatch sticks at this point, so I haven't done it. Do you folks find you get specific value out of the swatch sticks?

I still keep mine organized by colour and have gel polish separate from the other stuff.


----------



## GlitterGoth

I'm probably getting close to 700 polishes now, I got rid of loads a few months ago but have got more since and haven't counted for ages. I sort them by brand and then by colour, and they are either in shoeboxes, sweet tins or sturdy plastic boxes, e.g. all my (round) Revlon nail polishes are in one shoebox, all my Avon are in octagonal shaped tins, and all my Barry M (and Revlon chroma chameleon) are in big rectangular cake boxes. I don't have swatch sticks, I'm not that committed just yet!


----------



## Parasoul

In a box, in my backpack, under my bed, behind several boxes below room temperature.

I've been considering letting them age in an oak barrel though.


----------



## Damarys

I have mines stored in a cardboard box. Really need to upgrade my storage.


----------



## Monika1

Parasoul said:


> In a box, in my backpack, under my bed, behind several boxes below room temperature.
> 
> I've been considering letting them age in an oak barrel though.


Oh, no! You must let them out to breathe. They are most enjoyed by wearing and posting regularly!


----------



## Monika1

Damarys said:


> I have mines stored in a cardboard box. Really need to upgrade my storage.


I find the cardboard box(es) work quite well for me..


----------



## Parasoul

Monika1 said:


> Oh, no! You must let them out to breathe. They are most enjoyed by wearing and posting regularly!


If I'm being honest I haven't been able to wear mine as often as I'd like to lately. About twice a month if I'm lucky? /sadness I'll be able to wear them more often after the New Year, things will finally settle down and I'll have a bit more free time to myself.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


----------



## SoccerMomX3

There are great ideas in here!  My collection is currently stored in a large tool box but I'm going to start looking for wall racks, the box is full!


----------



## Damarys

Monika1 said:


> I find the cardboard box(es) work quite well for me..


Yes, but I would like to be able to display them and have them where I can instantly see which one I want rather than having to dig through them.


----------



## EggyBread

I store my polishes in the top compartment of my Viper mini tool chest. I only have 40 polishes though, and it probably wouldn't hold more than 60 or so. I keep my small(ish) makeup collection in the drawers.


----------



## Monika1

Damarys said:


> Yes, but I would like to be able to display them and have them where I can instantly see which one I want rather than having to dig through them.


Too true. I think I might use them a bit differently if I had them all out to see. It would be easier to find neat colour combinations too!


----------



## CaseyR

Just finished this with a bunch of Ikea spice racks that I spray painted black.  Putting them up with these old plastered walls was fun lol But it definitely stores my collection (for now hah).


----------



## chocolatesauce2

I just bought two nail polish racks from Amazon (see the attached, below). Before, I was storing my nail polish in my Glossbybox boxes but it was hard for me to tell what colors I had so I was ending up with duplicates. I'm on a No Beauty Buy Challenge until May 1st so instead I'm working on organizing my products. Hope these nail polish racks from Amazon work out for me.


----------



## chaostheory

CaseyR said:


> Just finished this with a bunch of Ikea spice racks that I spray painted black.  Putting them up with these old plastered walls was fun lol But it definitely stores my collection (for now hah).
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Nail Polish Rack.jpg


mine is up further in the thread but I used ikea spice racks too and spray painted them gray! they really are great racks!


----------



## CaseyR

chaosintoart said:


> mine is up further in the thread but I used ikea spice racks too and spray painted them gray! they really are great racks!


Looks great!  They really are a good way to cheaply make a cool display rack.  Despite them being 'spice' racks, I've pretty much seen them almost entirely being used for nail polish collections lol


----------



## Christa W

Got my first Helmer this past weekend on sale 29.99!!! I almost bought dome spice racks too but changed my mind.

I'm going back to get a desk with my taxes and probably 2 more.


----------



## SaraP

I just purchased the Sterilite Stack and Carry from Target

http://www.target.com/p/sterilite-stack-carry-tray-organizer-storage-tote-2-pc-transparent-with-jade-green-latch/-/A-14779290#prodSlot=medium_1_2&amp;term=sterilite+stack

Now I plan to swatch all my colors on Avery labels and hole punch the colors to put on the tops of the bottles.


----------



## acostakk

sarap said:


> I just purchased the Sterilite Stack and Carry from Target
> 
> http://www.target.com/p/sterilite-stack-carry-tray-organizer-storage-tote-2-pc-transparent-with-jade-green-latch/-/A-14779290#prodSlot=medium_1_2&amp;term=sterilite+stack
> 
> Now I plan to swatch all my colors on Avery labels and hole punch the colors to put on the tops of the bottles.


I LOVED my Stack and Carry.....until I outgrew it. I even had three levels. Oooops. 
I tried putting the swatch stickers on mine, but now they are popping off almost every bottle (except Avon with their wide, flat tops). Is there a secret to making them stay on some of the textured or embossed caps?


----------



## Stitchie

sarap said:


> I just purchased the Sterilite Stack and Carry from Target
> 
> http://www.target.com/p/sterilite-stack-carry-tray-organizer-storage-tote-2-pc-transparent-with-jade-green-latch/-/A-14779290#prodSlot=medium_1_2&amp;term=sterilite+stack
> 
> Now I plan to swatch all my colors on Avery labels and hole punch the colors to put on the tops of the bottles.





acostakk said:


> I LOVED my Stack and Carry.....until I outgrew it. I even had three levels. Oooops.
> 
> I tried putting the swatch stickers on mine, but now they are popping off almost every bottle (except Avon with their wide, flat tops). Is there a secret to making them stay on some of the textured or embossed caps?


I use a stack and carry also! It's SO handy! Except I need to add on another couple as it is quickly overflowing lol Once I can afford a bigger storage unit, it will just house my art tools.

I also have this stair-step display on my little 'nail art station' (which is really just a spare side table tucked away in a corner) haha =P

It's from the Butter London, London Calling set I received for Christmas a couple years back. (My boyfriend knows I'd take polish over flowers or jewelry ANY day)

I love the look of the display because it shows off my favorite polishes!


----------



## dazzleglamnails

I went to Lowe's and bought about (15) 3x8 boards and built my own nail polish rack. It may seem difficult but all it took was measuring, sawing, and nailing the boards together. The one I made holds between 300-400 bottles of polish.

All other polishes that didn't fit, I currently have them in a 3 drawer Homz organizer.

I'll attach a photo of it below, also shown are my awesome Banksy wall decals!


----------

